This 1963 Studebaker Avanti was part of a car show we attended last summer:
It was a gorgeous car with original paint, and it had this sticker in its window:
“Hill Holder” was a solution to the problem of stopping on an incline in a car with a manual transmission. One Studebaker dealer described the “nerve-tingling experience of being obliged to come to a full stop on a sharp upgrade . . . the necessity for more or less simultaneous manipulation of emergency brake, foot brake, accelerator, clutch pedal and gear shift lever when restarting the car.” Hill Holder did just that; it held the car stationary when stopped on a hill. It engaged automatically by depressing the clutch pedal while the brakes were on. A valve held the brake pressure until the clutch was released, leaving the driver’s right foot free to step on the gas.
The mechanism was introduced by Studebaker in 1936:
Hill Holder and Avanti . . . two more examples of Studebaker being ahead of its time.
Sources:
Studebaker. Advertisement. Arizona Republic, 12 May 1936, p. 1.
Studebaker. Advertisement. St. Joseph Gazette, 19 Dec. 1935, p. 3.
“Demonstrate Hill Holding Studebakers.” The Capital Journal [Salem, Oregon] , 8 February 1936, p. 5.
“Studebaker Offers ‘Hill Holder’ As Exclusive Feature.” The Coos Bay Times, 13 March 1936, p. 5.